Current Affairs 3rd March 2015

Current Affairs 3rd March 2015 - Important Points

• Who has been elected as President of BCCI - Jagmohan Dalmiya

• Defence Acquisition Council had given consent on buying of which aircraft for Indian Air Force - 38 Pilatus trainer aircraft

• Where did China launched Silk Road Infrastructure project - Northwest province of Gansu

• Who won the Argentina Tennis Open - Rafael Nadal of Spain

• Who had won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships - Roger Federer

• Which bill has been passed by Lok Sabha - Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015

• Who is appointed as chairman of National Book Trust - Baldev Sharma

• Who is appointed as Delhi Chief Secretary - IAS officer Kewal K Sharma

• Who has won the 2014 Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership - Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba

Current Affairs 3rd March 2015 - Details

Who has been elected as President of BCCI - Jagmohan Dalmiya

On 2nd March 2015, Jagmohan Dalmiya was elected as the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with one accord at Annual General meeting held in Chennai. Beside this five Vice Presidents were also elected which are Andhra's Gokaraju Gangaraju (south zone), Assam's Goutam Roy (east), ML Nehru of Jammu and Kashmir (north zone), CK Khanna (Delhi, central zone) and TC Matthews (Kerala, west zone).

Jharkhand State Cricket Association Chief Amitabha Choudhary was elected as Joint Secretary and Haryana's Anirudh Choudhary was named as its Treasurer while Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Chief Anurag Thakur was elected as Secretary of BCCI.

Defence Acquisition Council had given consent on buying of which aircraft for Indian Air Force - 38 Pilatus trainer aircraft

On 28th February 2015, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had given consent on buying of 38 more Pilatus trainer aircraft from Switzerland at a cost of 1500 crore rupees to train Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots. DAC also appointed Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) as the lead agency to build 12 Mine Counter Measure Vessel (MCMV) for the Navy. As per Make in India Initiative, MCMV project is aimed at building specialized vessels for the Indian Navy. Besides this DAC also gave approval for buying one C-130J medium transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of 530 crore rupees. C-130 J which got crashed in 2014 near Gwalior will be replaced by this aircraft.

Where did China launched Silk Road Infrastructure project - Northwest province of Gansu

On 28th February 2015, China launched a massive Silk Road Infrastructure project as a part of China’s ambitious Silk Route plan worth 79.8 billion US dollars in the northwest province of Gansu. This project will clear the way for exchange of trade and tourism between China and central Asian Countries. On its completion, the project will add more than 60000 kilometres of road network including 4070 kilometer expressways. It will be a 6 year Silk Road development project. This project will also build 12 civilian airports in the next six years to expand the air service reach to 82% of the province’s population.

Who won the Argentina Tennis Open - Rafael Nadal of Spain

On 2nd March 2015, Rafael Nadal won the Argentina Open title of Tennis. He defeated Juan Monaco of Argentina in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 in Buenos Aires. This 65th career title for Nadal moved him onto the fifth place in the Open era all-time list led by Jimmy Connors of the US who had won 109 titles.

Who had won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships - Roger Federer

On 28th February 2015, Roger Federer won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title. Federer defeated world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win his 7th Dubai Championship title. This was 126th ATP final for Federer of which he had won 84 title. He had also passed 9000 aces in singles matches. The other three players to achieve the fete include Goran Ivanisevic (10183), Ivo Karlovic (9375) and Andy Roddick (9074).

Which bill has been passed by Lok Sabha - Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015

On 2nd March 2015, The Lok Sabha passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 by voice vote. The Bill seeks to modify the Citizenship Act, 1955 which modulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights. On 27th February 2015, The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was initiated in Lok Sabha.

Provisions of the Bill

• It allows the Union Government to relax the requirement of 12 months stay or service if special circumstances exist in cases related to citizenship by naturalization and registration. Relief up to 30 days may be permitted by the government.
• It provides additional justification for registering an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card such as Minor children whose parent(s) are Indian citizens, spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI/ PIO cardholder subjected to certain conditions, great-grandchild of a person who is a citizen of another country, but meets one of several conditions of Citizenship Act, 1955.
• It introduces a new provision which allows the union government to register a person as an OCI cardholder even if he does not satisfy any of the listed qualifications.
• It provides that union government may notify that PIO cardholders shall be considered to be OCI cardholders from a specific date. It unify Persons of Indian Origin and Overseas Citizen of India cardholders.
• It enables the union government to cancel the OCI card where it is obtained by the spouse of an Indian citizen or Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, if the marriage is dissolved by a court, or the spouse enters into another marriage.

Who is appointed as chairman of National Book Trust - Baldev Sharma

Among the important appointments, On 2nd March 2015, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development appointed Baldev Sharma as chairman of National Book Trust (NBT). He is a former Panchajanya editor. Panchajanya is an Indian weekly newspaper published by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Hindi. It was initiated by RSS pracharak Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1948 in Lucknow.

Who is appointed as Delhi Chief Secretary - IAS officer Kewal K Sharma

Among the important appointments, On 3rd March 2015, IAS officer Kewal K Sharma was appointed as Chief Secretary of Delhi. Union Home Ministry approved his appointment. On 1st January 2015 he was appointed as the chief secretary of Goa. Prior to this appointment Sharma served as an advisor to the Union Territory administrator of Chandigarh from 2011-14 and had also served as Principal Secretary (PWD) of Delhi from 2009-11. From 1999 to 2005 he served in the United Nations (UN) Mission in Kosovo as a Civil Affairs Officer.

Who has won the 2014 Mo Ibrahim Prize for African Leadership - Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba

On 2nd March 2015, Hifikepunye Pohamba won the 2014 Mo Ibrahim prize for achievement in African leadership. Ibrahim Prize recognises and celebrates excellence in African leadership and was established in 2007.

About Mo Ibrahim prize

• The award is named as Mo Ibrahim, a British-Sudanese mobile communications philanthropist and entrepreneur, who had made billions of fortune from investing in Africa.
• In 2007, Mo Ibrahim launched this prize to inspire African leaders to quit power peacefully. Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique was awarded with the inaugural prize.
• This prize is given each year to an elected leader who has governed well, raised the living standards and then left the office.
• It is the world’s most valuable individual award and carries monetary award of 5 million dollars. The award also affords 200000 US dollars per year for ten years towards good causes espoused by the Ibrahim Laureate.